Southeast girls get balanced effort in City Tournament win over Lanphier
Southeast girls basketball coach Mike Collins was happy to get all three City Tournament games in, but he was even happier to finish with the Spartans’ first win over the three-day event at the Bank of Springfield Center.
“That's what this was all about,” Collins said. “That's what we talked about today. Let's get a win. Let's get going back on the winning side again.”
The Spartans (9-8 overall, 9-4 Central State Eight Conference, 1-2 City) survived a Lanphier near-comeback that ate all but three points off Southeast’s one-time 31-15 lead in the first half in a 50-44 win on Saturday.
“We had to come out and fight we got up a lot early but third quarter came and we just had to continue to fight to get the W in the end,” Southeast senior DD Mehundrew said.
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Sophomore Marisa Gant led the Spartans with 16 points. She added four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Mehundrew, who got her first win in the City Tournament in her four-year career with her final chance, finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.
“This year, I definitely wanted to make it a special for her and (and the seniors),” Gant said.
Southeast had more balanced scoring from the get-go, with Diamond Walker and Brianna Jones providing a combined 13 points for the Spartans. In Friday’s 53-37 loss to Sacred Heart-Griffin, Mehundrew and Gant had all of Southeast’s 13 first-quarter points.
“We challenged them to go get buckets tonight,” Collins said. “To contribute.”
Even Ahza Sanders’ night was defined by more than two her points. She led the Spartans with 11 rebounds.
Lions strike back
Saturday was the first time Lanphier laced up the sneakers since Jan. 11 because of COVID-19 protocols. The boys team at Lanphier was shuttered throughout the three-day event and will have to make up all three games against its city opponents.
The rust was apparent as Southeast took a 23-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and ballooned it to 31-15 midway through the second.
The Lions began the second half trailing 37-23, but Laney Parker and Cheyenne Trotter helped Lanphier mount a charge. Parker hit consecutive 3-pointers to start the third quarter, then Trotter scored the Lions’ next 10 points to outscore Southeast 16-5 in the period.
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Lanphier coach Doug Collins said he was overall pleased with how his team responded.
“(The team showed) some heart to heart and passion, perseverance out here playing a good team,” Doug Collins said. “We just had to settle down, we'd been off 10 days too. And we only had one day of practice and a light shootaround for 30-40 minutes.
“So I'm very pleased with the outcome. We could have easily folded, we got beat by 30. But, you know, we maintained our composure, settled down, hit some shots.”
That three-point deficit was the closest they’d get.
The Lions (4-9, 2-7, 0-1) got 24 points and 12 rebounds from Trotter, 12 points from Parker and six points and 12 boards from Moriah Crawford.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 857-246-9756, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: City Tournament: Southeast girls survive Lanphier at BOS Center
